ST. LOUIS (Interstat) — Nelson Velázquez, promoted from Triple-A Memphis earlier Friday, delivered a three-run home run in the first inning and scored the go-ahead run in the eighth as the St. Louis Cardinals edged the Chicago Cubs 6-5 in the first meeting of the season between the clubs.

Velázquez, making his first major league appearance since June 23, 2024, with Kansas City, connected on the first pitch he saw from Cubs left-hander Shota Imanaga and sent it over the left-field fence, tying the game 3-3 after the Cubs had scored three in the top of the inning. It was his first career homer against his former team, for whom he played from 2022 to 2023. He finished 2 for 3 with three RBIs.

St. Louis snapped a four-game losing streak, improving to 30-25, while the Cubs, who had won their previous two games after losing 10 straight, fell to 31-27. The loss dropped Imanaga to 4-6 on the season. Gordon Graceffo picked up the win with a scoreless inning of relief, his record moving to 4-1. Riley O’Brien earned his 14th save, working a rocky ninth.

The Cubs stormed out of the gate against Cardinals starter Justin Bruihl. Pete Crow-Armstrong grounded out to open the game, and Nico Hoerner followed with a groundout to third. But Michael Busch singled to center, Alex Bregman singled to center, and Ian Happ launched a three-run homer to right-center field, his 13th of the season, giving Chicago a 3-0 lead. Seiya Suzuki singled, but Michael Conforto struck out to end the inning.

St. Louis answered immediately in the bottom of the first. JJ Wetherholt grounded out, then Iván Herrera was hit by a pitch. Jordan Walker walked, and Velázquez crushed his three-run homer to left-center, tying the game 3-3. Alec Burleson popped out and Masyn Winn struck out on a foul tip to end the inning.

The Cubs regained the lead in the second. Carson Kelly grounded out, but Dansby Swanson singled to left. Crow-Armstrong struck out, Hoerner walked, and Busch lined a single to left, scoring Swanson and moving Hoerner to second. Bregman flied out to center, leaving the score 4-3.

After a quiet third inning for both sides, St. Louis tied it in the fourth. Masyn Winn singled, but José Fermín grounded into a double play. Thomas Saggese then hit a solo home run to left-center, his first of the season, knotting the game at 4-4. Victor Scott II struck out to end the inning.

The Cardinals took their first lead in the fifth. Wetherholt flied out, but Herrera homered to left-center, his seventh of the year, putting St. Louis ahead 5-4. Jordan Walker grounded out, Velázquez grounded out, and the inning ended.

The score remained 5-4 until the eighth. After a scoreless sixth and seventh, the Cubs threatened in the eighth. Suzuki singled to left, Conforto struck out, Kelly grounded out to second, moving Suzuki to second, but Swanson flied out to right.

In the bottom of the eighth, with the game still 5-4, Walker grounded out to third. Velázquez singled to shortstop, Burleson struck out on a foul tip, and Winn lined a single to right, moving Velázquez to second. Fermín then lined a single to left, scoring Velázquez and giving St. Louis a 6-4 lead. Nolan Gorman flied out to end the inning.

The Cubs made a final push in the ninth. Crow-Armstrong doubled to right, Hoerner lined out to first, with Crow-Armstromg advancing to third. Busch grounded out to third, scoring Crow-Armstrong to cut the deficit to 6-5. Bregman grounded out to shortstop to end the game.

Key performers included Ian Happ, who went 2 for 4 with a homer and three RBIs for Chicago. St. Louis’s Iván Herrera was 1 for 3 with a solo homer. On the mound, Ethan Roberts threw 1.2 innings of hitless relief for the Cubs, striking out two. JoJo Romero pitched a scoreless inning with two strikeouts for St. Louis. Hoby Milner faced one batter and retired him. Justin Bruihl, Ryne Stanek, Graceffo and O’Brien each handled a scoreless inning, though O’Brien allowed a run in the ninth. Velázquez was the top star for St. Louis.

The Cubs had won the previous two games after a stretch that saw them lose 10 consecutive contests from May 18 through May 26. The Cardinals entered having lost four straight, including a sweep at Milwaukee earlier in the week.

Interstat’s game simulator had projected a final score of St. Louis 3, Chicago 1. Interstat’s ELO system had given the Cubs a 53.00 percent probability to win. Chicago was installed as a pregame favorite with a spread of minus 1.5 runs. The total of 11 runs went under the over-under line of 8.